e By-laws.

Q--How is it, then, that, when you were arrested, there were only
twelve hundred and fifty francs found in your safe, and that amount
had been sent you through the post-office that very morning? What
has become of the rest?

A--The rest has been spent for the good of the company.

Q--Of course! You had a carriage?

A--It was allowed to me by Article 27 of the By-laws.

Q--For the good of the company too, I suppose.

A--Certainly. I was compelled to make a certain display. The head
of an important company must endeavor to inspire confidence.

The Judge, with an Ironical Look--Was it also to inspire confidence
that you had a mistress, for whom you spent considerable sums of
money?

The Accused, in a Tone of Perfect Candor--Yes, sir.

After a pause of a few moments, the judge resumes,

Q--Your offices were magnificent. They must have cost you a great
deal to furnish.

A--On the contrary, sir, almost nothing. The furniture was all
hired. You can examine the upholsterer.

The upholsterer is sent for, and in answer to the judge's questions,

"What M. Lefurteux has stated," he says, "is true. My specialty is
to hire office-fixtures for financial and other companies. I furnish
every thing, from the book-keepers' desks to the furniture for the
president's private room: from the iron safe to the servant's livery.
In twenty-four hours, every thing is ready, and the subscribers can
come. As soon as a company is organized, like the one in question,
the officers call on me, and, according to the magnitude of the
capital required, I furnish a more or less costly establishment. I
have a good deal of experience, and I know just what's wanted.
When M. Lefurteux came to see me, I gauged his operation at a glance.
Three millions of capital, swamps in the Orne, shares of five hundred
francs, small subscribers, anxious and noisy.

"'Very well,' I said to him, 'it's a six-months' job. Don't go into
useless expenses. Take reps for your private office: that's good
enough.'"

The Judge, in a tone of Profound Surprise--You told him that?

The Upholsterer, in the Simple Accent of an Honest Man--Exactly as
I am telling your Honor. He followed my advice; and I sent him red
hot the furniture and fixtures which had been used by the River
Fishery Company, whose president had just been sent to prison for
three years.

When, after such revelations, renewed from week to week, with
instructive variations, pu